


A Midautumn Night's Miraculous

by DrWho_MD



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2018-12-12 07:42:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11732607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrWho_MD/pseuds/DrWho_MD
Summary: Ladybug breaks Chat Noir's heart. Chat stumbles upon Marinette and the two develop a friendship. What happens when Ladybug realizes she loves Chat Noir but he's already moved on and fallen for Marinette?





	1. An Ending and a New Beginning

“Bye-bye little butterfly,” said the red and black polka dotted superheroine known as Ladybug as she released the purified akuma and reset all of the damaged caused by the villainous Papillon. Standing on the rooftop, she overlooked Paris being put back together in a wave of magic. 

Chat Noir, her cat-themed, black leather-bound partner, walked up and put his arm around her shoulders. “Well done, my Lady,” he said, combining attempted chivalry and a pun on her name. He grinned at her with his bright green eyes and his messy, windswept blond hair.

“Thanks, you too. The way you used your staff to knock the bucket in the air at just the right angle… magnifique! I swear, you have Scooby Doo luck on your side sometimes,” she said a laughed.

In usual overdramatic Chat fashion, he bowed. “You must be rubbing off on me, Lady Luck,” he said, referring to her power, Lucky Charm, which spontaneously generates a random object that always manages to save the day if used in the right way. Ladybug had the power of creation and Chat, destruction. His signature move was Cataclysm, which disintegrates the next thing he touches. After using either of these moves, the Miraculous holder’s power quickly runs out and he or she transforms back into his or her everyday powerless self within minutes. 

Both Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses began to beep. Speak of the devil…

“Gotta go!” Ladybug said. “Getting home is always more run using my yoyo. I’m gonna head out so I can cover as much ground as I can before I was to start walking again.”  
Chat grabbed her arm. “My Lady, wait! Why don’t we go together? Make it a date?”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m about to time out and we can’t know each other’s identities,” she said and looked away from his glowing green puppy-dog eyes. It’d been hard to talk to him after he confessed his love for her a few weeks ago after fighting an ice cream themed akuma. She’d thought he would take her “no” as a no but he only seemed more hopeful.

“We could go get some ice cream from André, maybe hang out on some rooftop and watch the stars? I purr-omise you’ll have a good time.”

Ladybug groaned. “Chat… I thought I made myself pretty clear. We’re friends. Good friends. Just friends. Nothing more.”

“But maybe after some time-”

“No, Chat. Never. Get it through your thick banana skull. We would not date, even if I wasn’t already in love with someone else. Stop hoping. Stop waiting. You’re only going to get hurt waiting for the sun to rise in the west. I’m sorry if I led you on. I don’t want to hurt you, but I-”

“No, it’s okay,” Chat interrupted, his voice a whisper. “I’m sorry for upsetting you, my lady. I- um, if it’s alright with you, I’m gonna head out.” 

He bounded off into the distance and didn’t look back, which was good timing because her earrings timed out and she transformed back into plain Marinette.

 

Far enough away from Ladybug but close enough to his house to not have too walk far, Chat transformed back into Adrien Agreste, popular model and son of famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste. He started to cry when Plagg, the spirit of the Chat Noir Miraculous floated out of his ring. \

“What do you want?” Adrien asked the floating, three inch tall black kwami. 

“Well some camembert would be nice. I’m very tired after fighting that akuma,” the annoying cat responded. Adrien all but threw the cheese at him. “Hey, now. What’s wrong? I told you to give up ages ago. What do you want me to say?”

“Nothing! I want you to say nothing!” Adrien looked off into the distance. The sun was almost done setting. “Plagg, claws out!” he shouted and transformed back into Chat Noir. 

He didn’t want to go home. He didn’t want to think. He just wanted to soar over the rooftops of Paris. 

During his angsty excursion, he spotted his classmate, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She seemed to be walking home from something alone. Chat didn’t know what took over him but went to her. As much fun as flying was, being alone just allowed his thoughts to flourish. Maybe talking to a friend would quiet his mind. She had really helped the last time his heart was this broken. She was a good person.

“Chat Noir?” she said, surprised when he dropped next to her. “What are you doing here?”

Chat tried to turn off his feelings switch and channel his superhero persona of confidence and swagger but it just wasn’t quite working. “Just patrolling,” he said, trying to sound cool. 

But Marinette just looked at him empathetically. “Are you okay?” she asked him.

Chat thought about lying but she looked genuinely concerned and it’s not like she knew he was her classmate so there was really no harm in being honest. “No,” he said simply. “I don’t want to talk about it though.”

She hesitated. Marinette knew what had happened. She didn’t want to talk about how she stomped all over his heart today either. But she felt she owed it to him to be a friend right now. She hasn’t meant to be so mean but having hope would only hurt him more in the long run. Like ripping off a band-aid, sometimes it was better to dish a lot of pain quickly than to let it draw out. “Do you want some cookies? My dad usually has some baking around this time.”

He thought about it. As long as he didn’t use Cataclysm, he could be Chat Noir for hours. “Yeah,” he said. “I’d really like that.”

“I’d offer you to come upstairs but my room is such a mess. I couldn’t possibly have guests in there.”

“I personally don’t care how messy your room is but I also respect your privacy so I won’t push the issue.” He walked alongside her but let her lead the way. Adrien had already been to her house several times, if not on a personal matter than to the bakery that was on the ground floor of the building. 

“Thank you,” Marinette said. That chit chatted as they walked. It wasn’t far but they walked slowly. She didn’t mind his company. He really was one of her best friends.

Chat was always surprised at how cool Marinette was outside of school. Whenever he was around her as Adrien, she always flubbed her words and stuttered so much it was almost exhausting to talk to her. They were friends. He liked her well enough. But they never really managed to have a conversation when he wasn’t dressed in a leather cat-suit. His best friend, Nino, always said that was because Marinette had a crush on him and that when Adrien wasn’t around, she was really cool. Then again, Nino was dating Marinette’s best friend, Alya, so he was probably just trying to squeeze a double date out of him. Not that it would ever happen. His heart belonged to Ladybug. 

And she had taken his heart and stabbed right through it.

They got to her house. Her parents were out front. Mari didn’t want to explain why she was hanging out with half of Paris’s heroic duo. She turned to Chat. “Hey, do me a favor and wait for me on the rooftop. You can’t miss it. There are a bunch of plants and a few chairs. You remember, right?” 

Chat knew the spot. “Yup.”

“I’ll be right up with some comfort food,” she said and walked inside. About ten minutes later, sure enough, she popped up with chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate, and mini marshmallows. 

She handed him a mug without marshmallows. “It’s not too girly, I hope,” she teased.

Chat changed his voice to sound like a stereotypical comic hero from the 50’s. “As a matter of fact, this offends my masculinity to the highest degree. A manly drink needs much more marshmallows!”

Mari giggled and made her voice dramatic as well and tossed some marshmallows at him. “I’m so very sorry good sir. I hope this corrects the error.”

Taking the ones that landed in his lap and not on the ground and putting them into his hot chocolate, he smiled. “Yes, I do believe this will suffice. I am placated.”

“Well good. I cannot imagine what a testosterone explosion would be like from a man of your caliber.”

“Let’s hope you keep those marshmallows coming so we never have to find out,” he said. 

An hour or two had passed and before she knew it, Mari realized she actually really liked hanging out with Chat. It was a lot simpler when he wasn’t trying to impress her or flirt. It was just fun. It was too bad it was getting so late and she had school tomorrow. When she told Chat that it was time to turn in, she saw the sadness she caused earlier in the day come back. She felt so guilty but she couldn’t lead him on. Her heart belonged to Adrien. Ladybug and Chat Noir just weren’t meant to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note: To be honest, I doubt anyone will read this but to whoever does, I'd just like to say that this is the first thing I've ever written (that I've posted online at least) so I know it's pretty rough. I'm going to try and finish the story because I know there's nothing more annoying than an unfinished work but I'm also in Nursing school. I will do my best. I hope you enjoy the story! :) I know I had fun writing it <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd been thinking my original draft of Chapter 1 was pretty weak for a while now and, given how closely it paralleled with Glaciator, I fit the episode in to my story to make it a little more canon and fix the timeline. Hope nobody is too heartbroken about it. I'm much much happier with the story now.


	2. The Collector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir has to not only face the love of his life who had broken his heart only the day before, but also the realization that his father might in fact be Papillon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed Hawk Moth to Papillon because 1) the French sounds better and 2) seriously, try saying Papillon or listen to Hawk Moth say it in Gigantitan. It's adorable and it makes me smile and that's reason enough for me. :D  
> Also, I didn't realize that The Collector takes place literally the same day as Volpina when I originally wrote this. So I tweaked the first paragraph a little to fix the timeline.

Chat Noir sat on the open window ledge, ready to sneak out of the house. He had to find his father’s book. He opened his staff to bounce out of there when he noticed a voicemail message from Ladybug. His heart, instead of feeling light with love, felt heavy with sorrow from thinking about her rejection earlier that week. First, she broke his heart. Then, yesterday, she acted like such a- and actually caused an akuma, Volpina. Why couldn’t Papillon just take a small vacation?

“Chat Noir, I think I know who Papillon is! Get your whiskers over here, fast!” her message said.

“Well, I guess the spellbook will have to wait a bit longer,” Chat said to himself and hopped off to meet Ladybug.

He found on her on top of the school building. She was pacing, in that adorable way she always did when she was being impatient, when she heard him approach. “Chat Noir, did you get my messages?” Her bluebell eyes stunned him. He felt such an array of emotions, a little more than half of them were causing a searing pain in his chest. Come on, Adrien. Be Chat, flirty and fun. You have a job to do.

“Yeah,” he told her, twirling his staff and then leaning on it. “And I can’t wait to know more, my lady-detective. So, who’s the suspect?”

“Gabriel Agreste,” she said. Chat was so floored, he lost grip of his staff and fell forward. “You know, the fashion designer?” 

He couldn’t believe it. “You got proof?”

Ladybug got evasive. “Uh, umm, I can’t tell you.”

“So I’m supposed to just… accept that?” Chat challenged.

Her face softened. “You must trust me on this. But it all makes sense. Gabriel Agreste is a secretive man and he never leaves his house. And get this: check out his brand’s logo.” She opened her yoyo and showed pictures of his father’s magazine. In just about every picture, there was…

“A butterfly…”

Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder soothingly. “You okay, Chat Noir?”

Chat turned away. He couldn’t handle her being, well, her at a time like this. Teenage angst would have to wait. “It’s time to get to the bottom of this,” he said, and leaped to the next building in the direction of Papillon, the direction of his home.

 

Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived at the Agreste mansion to find all the furniture tossed about as if there was a break in. Chat’s heart immediately sped up with worry. What happened in the past half hour? Was his father okay? Was his father Papillon?

Ladybug broke the silence. “Woah, what happened here? Looks like somebody had a little tantrum.” She looked at Chat. From his face she could tell he was in pain. Was he still upset about yesterday? “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” he said and took a deep breath. He spotted a framed picture he drew of his family, together and happy, lying on the ground, the glass broken. “Yeah, Lets keep going.”

Ladybug spied on what Chat had been looking at and remembered Adrien. How could she forget Adrien! She gasped. “He’s got a son!” she exclaimed and began running in the direction of Adrien’s room. “Make sure nothing’s happened to him!”

But as they turned the corner, the spotted a long figure at the top of the grand staircase. The figure was tall and skinny, in a white and black suit with red accents, especially around the mask covering his face. 

“Where’s Gabriel Agreste?” demanded Chat Noir.

The figure gestured to himself flamboyantly. “There is no more Gabriel Agreste. There is only The Collector.” The threw a book at Ladybug, which sailed more like a frisbee than a normal book. Ladybug flipped over it but instead of hitting the door behind her, the door disintegrated and the book boomeranged back to The Collector. The villain opened the book and admired the new sketch of the door that appeared on the pages. “You won’t be able to escape!”

The fight played out mostly with running and dodging the boomerang book with a little hand-to-hand combat, the latter of which promptly ended when the book gobbled up both Chat’s staff and Ladybug’s yoyo. 

They leaped up to the second story of the mansion and Chat turned to Ladybug. “Gabriel Agreste can’t possibly be Papillon since, he’s been akumatized!” Finally, some good news.

Instead of relief, Ladybug just looked annoyed. “You call Agreste turning into The Collector good news?” 

At that, The Collector found their hiding spot and they were on the run away. They had no way to fight him without touching him! Running into Adrien’s room, they barricaded the door to buy time.

“Gabriel Agreste’s son isn’t at home?” Of course, it was always up to Ladybug to notice Adrien was missing. Chat wondered what her obsession with him was anyway. Was she a fan of his modeling? 

Chat tried to act nonchalant. “Maybe The Collector’s already captured him?”

Ladybug gasped in horror at the thought of her Adrien getting hurt. “You think he’d really take it out on his own son?”

Just when Chat’s acting talent was about to run out, The Collector started absorbing their barricade into his book. “You cannot escape from me,” he growled.

Lightbulb! “What if he runs out of pages in his book?” she hypothesized and activated her ladybug vision. The world became black and white like a ladybug’s, with only objects that work with her Lucky Charm (bicycle pedals, of all things) being in color. She had her plan.

“Chat Noir! I need ammunition!”

“You need what?”

She threw one of Adrien’s trophies at the CD rack behind Chat Noir. “We’re going to complete his collection!”

Now even Chat’s lightbulb lit up. “Very smart, Mi’lady,” he said. “Quite ingenious.”

Ladybug was still doing massive parkour, trying to avoid The Collector’s attacks, snatching Chat’s belt as she ran past him. “Less talking, more doing!”

Chat fired up his Cataclysm and caused the CDs and DVDs to fall into Ladybug’s makeshift… whatever you would call a foosball table attached to bicycle pedals, kicking CDs at a villain like a machine gun. As expected, The Collector absorbed all the discs into his book, each taking up its own page. 

They ran out of ammo and The Collector was still fast approaching. He swiped up the foosball table and touched Ladybug with his book. Thankfully, Ladybug’s main power is the power of being very lucky because that foosball table happened to fill up his last page. They were then free to attack the villain, destroy his book, reset the world, and de-evilize the akuma.

“Bye-bye, little butterfly,” Ladybug said. She looked at Chat and smiled, raising her fist to “pound it” but Chat had already run over to Gabriel.

“Are you okay, Fa- uh, sir?” Chat asked.

Gabriel shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “Chat Noir? Ladybug? What happened to me?”

Ladybug opened her mouth to speak, as she usually took charge, but Chat didn’t give the opportunity. “You were akumatized by Papillon; but don’t worry, it’s over now,” he blurted.

Gabriel smiled at each of them. “Thank you. Thank you both,” he said and seemed to have a lightbulb moment of his own. “Adrien! Where is my son?!” 

“Heeeeeee… must be hiding!” Chat offered. Why did people only care about his whereabouts when he was Chat Noir? 

“Chat Noir is right,” Ladybug said. “Otherwise your son would have reappeared right here.”

Gabriel put his hands on Chat’s shoulders. “Nothing must happen to him,” he said and looked into Chat’s eyes. “He is too precious to me.” 

Chat was so happy in that moment to hear his father admit to loving him when Ladybug and her beeping earrings ruined it. She said her goodbyes and jumped out the window.

“Don’t worry yourself, sir. I’m sure your son is safe and sound,” Chat said and followed his partner out the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Marinette walked out of the Agreste mansion for the second time that day, having just finished humiliating herself to clear Adrien’s name so his father would unground him. It must have been a weird coincidence that Adrien’s mother would have come into the possession the Miraculous book. Maybe she was connected to Papillon in some way. Mari wanted to find a way to question Adrien about his mother but he never talks about her so it must be a very painful subject. Nobody even knew if she was dead or had just left. All they knew was that Mrs. Agreste was gone and that this was very recent as this past Christmas had been the Agrestes’ first Christmas without her. 

Before going home, however, Mari decided to go to her favorite spot in Paris to draw and design. She chuckled to herself, wondering if Mr. Ramier would be there with his pigeons. Halfway into a great dress design (hopefully she’d have it sewn and ready by spring), she saw Chat Noir running around rooftops. Out of habit more than an actual want to talk to him, she waved. He saw and jumped down to her.

“Why hellooooo Purrincess,” he said and sat down on the bench next to her. “Whachya doin?” 

“I should be asking you that,” Mari replied. “What’re you doing here? Is there another akumatized victim out there?”

Chat laughed. “No, I just really like parkour. And it’s a lot safer (and more fun!) when I have a magic stick so I do it as Chat. Problem?”

Mari shook her head at her leather-clad, crime fighting partner. “Of course you do. No wonder you’re usually on the scene before m- Ladybug.”

Chat humph-ed. “She acts like I’m always the one late! Good to see somebody notices that I do my job.

“Ladybug appreciates you! How could she not? You’re like her other half,” Mari said. Chat’s face fell and Mari knew that bringing that up had the opposite effect that she had intended. “Anyways…” she stretched the word until she thought of a replacement subject. “Do you have other hobbies?”

“Anime mostly,” he said and shrugged. Then he remembered their shared interest. “I also like to play Ultimate Mecha Strike 3.”

Marinette almost fell off the bench in surprise. “I love that game! I even won my school’s competition earlier this year.”

“That’s amazing!” Chat exclaimed, pretending he didn’t already know. So he listened to her gush about her signature move and her favorite character avatar to play as. “It’s too bad I don’t have anybody to play with,” he said suggestively. True, he could probably play with Marinette any time as Adrien but she couldn’t talk to him worth a damn. He was curious how she would act when she wasn’t trying to look cool.

She packed up her sketchbook. “Now I wanna play.” She sighed playfully. “I guess you’ll do since I don’t see an actual worthy opponent around.”

Chat clutched his chest in faux pain. “My heart! You would me, Princess.”

Marinette laughed. “Sure, Chaton. Just wait until I mop the floor with you in MS3. Then you’ll really be in pain!” Suddenly, Chat picked her up bridal style. “What are you doing?”

He rolled his eyes at her. “I know where the bakery is and this is the fastest way to get there.” He booped her nose and winked. “And I don’t want your bravado to wear off in the time it takes to walk. Plus, this is way more fun.” 

On that last word, he extended his baton and in the blink of an eye they were leaping above buildings. Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck for extra stability and relaxed in for the ride. She already trusted Chat with her life. It’s not like he’d slip up and drop her now that she was Marinette instead of Ladybug. So she laid her head on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat while he ran. It was kind of nice being carried around when there wasn’t an akuma out to kill her. Soon enough, there were on her balcony. 

Chat peered down at Marinette all snuggled up in his arms. She was adorable. Sensing the lack of movement, she opened her eyes. “Uhh,” she said. “Why are you still carrying me?”

Chat smiled fondly at her. “Would you prefer I dropped you?” 

“I suppose not,” she said with a smirk. “May I please be let down now? Gently?” Chat pretended to drop her but then set her down nicely as requested. “Thank you. Now it’s time to repay that kindness by crushing your spirit, noob!”

Chat could barely stand anymore he was laughing so hard at her sudden change in attitude. She was so much different around him when he wasn’t Adrien, almost Ladybug-like. Wiping the unshed tears in his eyes, he followed her through the trap door and into her room. She plopped into one of her chairs and dug the extra controller from her desk drawer. “You still in?” she called to Chat. 

He laughed cockily. “Of course. Who do you take me for?”

“I take you for a scaredy cat, mon petit chaton.”

“Once again, Purrincess. I’m going to need surgery for all these shots to the heart you’re giving me.”

“What can I say? I give love a bad name.”

-FOUR GAMES LATER-

“Well, I guess your conceit was well earned,” Chat Noir said to Marinette after she crushed him for the fourth game in a row. Then again, he shouldn’t have been surprised. She absolutely destroyed his score when the played last time (though he was Adrien then, not Chat Noir). I guess gaming powers isn’t in Plagg’s skillset…

“MARINETTE STYLE!” she yelled elatedly. “Sorry, Chat. You just can’t beat the champ.” Then she remembered herself. “Sorry, I get a little cocksure at times. Did you have fun?”

Chat warmed at her sweetness. “Of course I did. If I didn’t have homework to finish before morning, I’d keep playing with you all night. You’re quite the partner, Marinette.”

Mari actually blushed at his sincere compliment. “Uh, right back at you Chat. Wanna play again some time? 

“I would love to,” he said. He took her hand in his, kissed it, and spun around and struck a Tuxedo Mask pose.

Marinette froze and then burst into hysterics. “My God, you are nothing if not dramatic, you dork!” She clapped a hand on his back and ushered him out to the balcony. “I have homework too so time for you to take your nerd butt home. I’ll play with you tomorrow if there isn’t an akuma attack, okay?”

“As you wish,” he said and jumped off her roof into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I just want to say to anyone who was waiting, that I'm so very sorry this took four months to post. I had a lot of personal issues going on on top of a stressful semester and I just couldn't bring myself to write. I hope the wait was worth it. I tried very hard to produce something better than my first chapter. Honestly, the fact that four people said they were excited to read more made me come back to this more than anything. So this chapter is for them. <3


	3. Despair Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uninterested in Marinette's father's baking class, Chloe prank calls the fire department to get out of it. The entire school gets in trouble, not that Chloe cares. Adrien, appropriately disgusted with her, tells Chloe that he cannot be friends with someone so unkind. Chloe's butler uses her old teddy, Mr. Cuddly, to teach her how to be nice. She throws a party and invites everyone (even Marinette). She tries to be nice but Chloe is Chloe and Papillon's favorite teenager causes an akuma attack.

Marinette could not believe Chloé actually invited her to a party. She’d think this was some kind of Carrie-esque set up but Adrien would be there and, given the events of this morning, she doubted that Chloé would do anything blatantly cruel in front of him.

They- Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette- arrived together as a group. Ah, the perks of being best friends with your crush’s best friend’s girlfriend, Mari thought. It also helped that Alya and Nino totally shipped her and Adrien together. 

“This whole party thing is way weird,” Mari whispered to Alya.

“Well I’ve known Chloé for a long time,” Adrien said. “She can actually be cool sometimes.”

Suddenly, there was a loud shriek of “ADRIKINS!!!” as Chloé ran full speed at Adrien, wrapping her arms around his neck, literally “throwing herself at him.” Marinette rolled her eyes as Chloé kissed both of Adrien’s cheeks in greeting. How he could stand her, Marinette would never know.

“What do you think of me hosting this party?” Chloé asked Adrien (and only Adrien). “Really nice of me, right?” Aaaand now it all made sense.

“It’s awesome, Chloé,” Adrien said, giving her thumbs up. 

A bunch of their classmates came up and greeted Chloé with hugs and kisses. Somehow, Chloé and Marinette came face to face and there was no other option for either Chloé or Marinette than to suck it up and greet each other civilly. They did, much to their shared disgust, and the party went on.

“I should have gotten you guys on video,” said a cackling Alya when Marinette returned to her best friend’s side.

“Don’t rub it in,” Marinette whined as she tried to wipe Chloé’s lip-gloss off her cheek.

Adrien walked away to get some drinks and Nino kissed Alya goodbye before he left her to man the DJ booth, leaving the pair of girls to alone to gossip as they pleased.

They watched as Chloé insulted and then, when she saw Adrien standing nearby, un-insulted every guest. Chloé looked to be in physical pain as she put on a fake smile. “This whole nice act is one big charade,” Marinette said, arms crossed over her chest. “She’s just doing it to please Adrien.”

Alya snorted. “Ack-hem! Funny, that reminds me of the girl who didn’t want to go to a party until she heard Adrien would be there.

Marinette bristled. “Please don’t compare me to Chloé.” 

Alya, laughing at her friend’s lack of introspection, changed the subject. “So who have you been texting recently? You’re always on your phone when we hang out now.” Marinette patted her pocket for her cell but it was already in Alya’s hands. “Chaton? Who’s tha- No! You text Chat Noir?” Marinette tried to grab the phone back but to no avail. “And there are dozens of messages! I feel like I’ve been scrolling for an eternity now and yet go on it does.” 

Marinette finally managed to steal back her cell and put in in her purse, where sticky fingered Alya couldn’t so easily snatch it. “So what if I do?”

“Won’t Adrien get jealous?” Alya batted her eyes at Marinette. Then she winked. “You should have told me you had a new boytoy.” 

Marinette rolled her eyes. “We’re just friends. We play Mecha Strike together. It’s nothing like that. I think you’re just jealous that I have a new friend. You know, if you played MS3 with me, then I wouldn’t need him.”

“Girl, you know I’m not into games 1 and 2, my Wi-fi is not good enough to handle that game. Some people have siblings.”

“Just play at my house like he does,” Mari said, shrugging.

Alya’s mouth dropped open. “He comes to your house?!”

Marinette blanched. She hadn’t meant to reveal that. “Like I said, friends,” she said, desperately trying to move the conversation along and away from that tidbit. “Nothing more. You know I only have eyes for Adrien. I maintain that you are jealous.”

Alya bumped her hip into Mari’s. “As if. I’m not worried. Until he sees the wall dedicated to Adrien where you stalk his schedule, I hold position as friend numero uno.”

Mari groaned. “I can’t even imagine Chat seeing that. He would make fun of me for the rest of my life.” 

“I can hear the puns now,” Alya said wistfully as Mari playfully shoved her best friend. “So any way you can snag me an exclusive for the LadyBlog?”

 

Meanwhile, everyone was dancing and having a good time. Kim walked over to Nino and convinced him to play a slow song. Kim tried to invite Chloé to dance and, miraculously, she accepted. Mari was astounded at how un-Chloé-like Chloé was being. She looked constipated with every “nice” interaction but, for once, she wasn’t being a total bitch.

Adrien gave Chloé a thumbs-up as she danced with Kim. He was actually sort of proud of her. He stood near-ish to the back, around Alya and Marinette but not close enough to clearly make out their conversation. 

“Go over and ask him, girl,” he overheard Alya say. 

“Uh, what? Adrien? No! You’re crazy!” A second later, a person collided with him. What clumsy person could that possibly be, Adrien thought. He turned around. Marinette was rubbing her head from the impact and turning to glare at Alya for her betrayal. He winked at Alya in approval.

“Hey there, Marinette,” he said with a wave. “Do you wanna dance?” Her face was priceless as she stuttered awkwardly. Wanting to get past the verbal shenanigans before the song ended, Adrien took Mari’s hand and led her to the dance floor. He arranged their hands in classic closed position and began gliding around the room. Mari was still unable to form a sentence. Her lack of verbal skills around him used to annoy Adrien, but now it was almost endearing. 

Mari looked over at Chloé, who was fuming at the sight of her and Adrien so close together. “See,” he said. “Chloé is on her best behavior tonight.” Mari let out a giggle and stared up into his candy apple green eyes. Adrien softened at her gaze. He hadn’t even noticed they had stopped moving until Alya twirled in (yes, twirled in) and moved their hand positions into a much more intimate pose, with both her hands around his neck and both his hands at around her waist, their torsos touching. Adrien shrugged and started swaying with her, closing his eyes to really take in the niceness of the embrace, until a scream interrupted the moment.

“I am not letting her dance with Adrien under MY roof!”

“If I may say, Mademoiselle -”

“Move, Jean Jacques!”

“Oh please, Chloé bear,” sang a squeaky voice. “You’ve been such a good little girl. Mr. Cuddly is so very proud-”

Adrien and Mari broke apart to see Chloé standing with her butler, desperately trying to hide the yellow stuffed bear he was holding.

“Is that your teddy bear, Chloé?” Kim asked, and the room erupted into mocking laughter. 

Mortified, Chloé pushed her butler into the kitchen. Within a few minutes, though, everyone forgot about the incident and went back to dancing, mostly due to Nino putting on the summer party anthem of the year. Or, at least, everyone forgot until Sabrina chased Chloé across the dance floor with a hairbrush. Chloé hid behind Kim for protection.

“If you touch one hair on Chloé’s head, you’ll have to answer to me,” Kim warned, playing the role of Chloé’s knight in shining armor. The black teddy bear that was around Sabrina’s leg got up and, of its own volition, scrambled over to Kim’s leg. Kim’s eyes turned the same bright, glowing green as the bear’s.

Marinette and Adrien looked at the bear, looked at each other, and made excuses on why they had to leave.

“I- I think I had too much juice. I gotta go. See ya!”

“No problem, I had something to do anyway. See ya!

 

Ladybug arrived on the scene as Kim was swing dancing with Chloé. She was less concerned with how or why Nino picked the perfect music to go along with the dangerous dance, as she was with Chloé being thrown way too high up in the air to possibly be safe. Ladybug lassoed her yo-yo around Chloé and whipped her over so that she crashed in the ball pit. The song even ended as Chloé landed. Really, Nino? 

“What took you so long?” Chloé said to Ladybug. 

Bitch, it’s been like two minutes and the only reason I got here so fast is because I was already at your stupid party, Marinette fought the urge to say.

Kim made a move for Chloé again but Chat Noir showed up and tripped Kim, causing the Despair Bear to fly into a wall.

Chat feigned innocence and patted the ground. “That’s a very slippery dance floor.”

They pair tried to find Despair Bear but he had already hid by attaching himself to a new victim, Max Kanté, who began throwing chairs at the superheroes. Despair Bear kept switching partygoers whenever Ladybug or Chat Noir got too close to catching him. Alya was next, then Ivan, then Chat Noir.

Chat Noir snatched at her ears for her miraculous. “Chat Noir, it’s me! Stop it!” Ladybug grabbed his arm and twisted it until she had it behind is back. She thought she had him pinned until-

“Cataclysm!” 

Just when Ladybug was done for Chloé had run up, grabbed his tail, and swung him onto a couch, screaming, “Paw’s off, Kitty!” Chat’s Cataclysm was wasted as the couch disintegrated.

“Thank you,” Ladybug said honestly. As horrible as Chloé was to Marinette (and everyone else for that matter), she sure loved Ladybug.

“Hey,” she announced gleefully. “I was really nice just then! Did you see? No?” The partygoers all face palmed. “You’re all so lame…”

Getting her head back in the game, Ladybug conjured her Lucky Charm, a fork. Chat Noir got up and chased her upstairs and onto the patio. Ladybug almost stopped to think about how often this patio was the scene of akuma showdowns. Ladybug snagged one of Despair Bear’s loose threads onto her fork and tied it around a nearby umbrella. She turned to the blonde heiress who had followed the heroes onto the patio. “Chloé, would you be so kind?”

Chloé was thankfully not as airheaded as she acted sometimes and began twisting the umbrella as Ladybug and Chat Noir fought, unraveling Despair Bear until he was but a head.

Chat Noir’s eyes went from glowing akuma green to their normal green. “Ladybug? What are you doing?” 

She smirked at him. “Oh, nothing. Just saving your skin with the help of our new, little sidekick.” Chloé flipped her hair over her shoulder in classic mean girl style.

A small voice cried out. “Give me your miraculouses! You haven’t defeated me yet!”

“Watch your step, Chat Noir,” Ladybug chirped and pointed to his feet. 

Chat picked up the tiny, squirming Butler Jean. “I’ve got this little guy under control.”

Breaking the teddy’s head, Ladybug released and purified the akuma, and undid all damage done. Butler Jean returned to his normal size and fell as Chat’s teenage self could not hold up the weight of the adult.

Ladybug picked up the yellow-again Mr. Cuddly and held it out to Chloé. “Thanks again for helping me out there. That was… really nice of you.”

Chloé took back her bear and flipped her hair. “I know, wasn’t it?”

Butler Jean walked up to Chloé. “Mademoiselle, I must confess, I don’t remember anything.”

“Well basically, you turned evil and I saved you. In fact, without me, Ladybug and Chat Noir never would have succeeded.” She turned to Ladybug. “I’m even better than you superheroes. I don’t even need a costume.”

Ladybug shook her head, recalling how Chloé regularly dressed up as Ladybug with Sabrina with Butler Jean pretending to be the villain-of-the-week. But today was a good win so not even Chloé being Chloé could get her down right now.

Their miraculouses beeped at them. Chat’s ring was at its last paw and Ladybug had only two spots left.

“Gotta get going!”

“Yeah, me too!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not know what is going on but it keeps cutting off the end of the chapter when I post even though everything looks fine in the preview. So "Chapter 4" is really just going to be the super cute conversation between Mari and Chat after the party is over. And sorry to anyone who read this in the 10 minutes it took for me to fix this and had to read a chapter that ended on "Meow." (Because yes, that IS where it got cut off).


	4. Late Night Texts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Chloe's party, an exhausted Marinette and Adrien text each other. Well, Mari thinks she's texting Chat Noir... and she is... because he is also Adrien... but she doesn't know that...  
> Sigh, gotta love the love square.  
> But seriously tho, he's not in costume. That'd be weird. He just went out and bought another phone because he's rich as heck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter follows immediately after the last. It's the same chapter. Split in two. Like my heart will be when I have to wake up in five hours...

As Marinette was getting into bed, she received a text from Chat. She’d never admit it but she was actually looking forward to talking to him after the party. He had used Cataclysm so early in the fight, they’d had to run the second it was over.

CHATON: So how was that party you blew off game night for?  
PURRINCESS: You know what? Despite it being hosted by my arch nemesis, I actually had a great time. I stood in the back and talked to Alya for most of it. And I got to dance with the hottest guy in our class. Always a win!  
CHATON: Oh? Hot guy? Who could that be?  
PURINCESS: None of your business. Anyways, afterwards Chloé invited my dad over to finish the baking lesson that she SO RUDELY interrupted this morning but that is a long story and I don’t want to type it all out. But yeah, so hot guy came over and tried my macaroons and he said my baking skills were as good as my dancing skills. Swoon!  
CHATON: Wow, so you can’t bake either? Sad.  
PURRINCESS: As if. Anyways, his face was like super close to mine. I couldn’t breathe. If he hadn’t walked away when he did, I might have died from asphyxiation.  
CHATON: Anything else interesting happen…?  
PURRINCESS: Oh yeah! I saw you there!!!  
CHATON: Lol finally! How’d you like the front row seat to my display of heroism?  
PURRINCESS: Haha, puh-lease. You got taken over by a teddy bear. You were nothing but an obstruction.  
CHATON: Owww. You’re so mean to me, Princess. Can’t a cat lick his wounds without you throwing salt in them?  
PURRINCESS: Never! You know MS3 players are salty af. My salt makes me strong. This is why I always kick your ass.  
CHATON: Don’t make me come over and prove you wrong.  
PURRINCESS: Your win-rate is like 15%. What exactly would coming over prove other than your sheer incompetence?  
CHATON: Ugh! You make me crazy.  
PURRINCESS: You’re so in love with me. Just admit it.

Adrien laughed to himself about how silly Marinette was. He had spent practically all day with her, but it wasn’t the same as when he was her chaton. Though, it was amazing to see her all flustered over him at Chloé’s party. That, plus her calling him “hottest guy in class” just now, cemented things. She definitely had a crush on him. He owed Nino $20. But as much as he liked teasing her and watching her blush, he wished she’d fall for someone else so he could be friends with her like this without a mask.

CHATON: I’ll admit that when you give me a compliment. A real one. From the cold, sodium filled thing in your chest a normal person would call a heart.  
PURRINCESS: You look good in leather?  
CHATON: Meow! ;-) You’re not so bad yourself. Very easy on the eyes. *purrs*  
PURRINCESS: Omg, this is why I can’t give you compliments. You’re incorrigible.  
CHATON: Baby, why you gotta spurn my love like this? You told me to admit it, sugar. Here I am, admitting my undying love for you. So when’s the wedding date? I promise I’ll wear leather ;-D  
PURRINCESS: Nope. I’m out. Goodnight. Enough Internet for the day. Byyyeeee  
CHATON: Wait! I’m sorry, I was just kidding.  
CHATON: I didn’t make you uncomfortable, did I? I really didn’t mean it!  
CHATON: I mean, you are really pretty but I would never step beyond the boundary of friendship.  
PURRINCESS: lmaoooooo calm down. I had to go downstairs a minute and I left my phone in my room. We’re good. No worries.  
PURRINCESS: Oh, and good to know I’m pretty, thanks! hahaha  
CHATON: …and you say I’m terrible  
PURRINCESS: I do kinda have to go to bed for reals tho. Nothing to do with you and everything to do with it being 11pm and my having school tomorrow.  
CHATON: Same. It’s times like these that make me wish I were home-schooled.  
PURRINCESS: A little curious. What school do you go to?  
CHATON: You wouldn’t know it. You go to that fancy private school next to your bakery, right? You wouldn’t have any experience with us lowly public school kids.  
PURRINCESS: How’d you know I go to Collège Françoise Dupont?  
CHATON: I’ve saved you enough times to know a thing or two lol also, you go to school with Chloé Bourgeois and there’s nowhere else she’d go.  
PURRINCESS: Haha, true true. You’re smarter than I give you credit for, Chat. There, two compliments. Don’t ruin it by replying. GOODNIGHT

Adrien almost sent a silly reply but he didn’t want to push his luck. Their friendship was really becoming important to him. Marinette was almost up there with Nino and Ladybug. 

Ladybug…

Adrien shook his head. He didn’t want to think about her right now. 

She is just a friend and that’s all she’ll ever be. She does not love you and never will. She does not love you and never will. She does not love you and never will. She does not love you and never will. She does not love you and never will. She does not love you and never will. 

The sooner Adrien got that through his head, the sooner he could be the platonic friend she deserves and he can go back to looking at her face without wanting to cry. He turned off his phone and went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I figured out the problem. Microsoft Word autocorrected my basic text smiley into an emoji, which AO3 I guess decided meant end of chapter or something. In case anyone was curious...


	5. Audimatrix and a Movie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has to babysit Manon on the same night as Ladybug's interview with Najda! Alya comes over to save the day but what happens after Manon and Alya go home?

“Tonight, for our first edition of Face-to-Face, you’ll have the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to talk LIVE with Ladybug and Chat Noir, along with me, Nadja Chamack! We’ll be revealing some sizzling hot information about your favorite superheroes! Don’t be bemused; it’s just the news!”

“Sizzling hot revelations?” Plagg inquired. “You think they found out your identity?”

Adrien thought about it for a minute, then shook his head. “I doubt it. You said the Miraculous magically protects our identities so that nothing short of witnessing me transform could clue somebody in.”

“Yup! You could watch Ladybug walk into a closet and come out as (I don’t know, your friend, Mari or whoever), and STILL not put two and two together.”

Adrien sighed. “I’m never going to find out Ladybug’s identity, will I?” Plagg shrugged. “I guess that’s for the best. We’re just crime-fighting partners. The superhero side of her is all I really need to see to do my job. Part of me still wishes we were friends again, though. I really messed up before. Do you think we could ever be just friends? Or will I always have feelings for her?”

Adrien looked over to his kwami but Plagg wasn’t paying any attention. He threw some camembert at the black cat. 

Plagg turned around, ate the cheese, and sighed. As much as he wanted to be annoyed with his chosen’s puppy-love heartbreak, he felt for the poor teen. So, for once, Plagg tried to be empathetic. “Look, Adrien. I don’t know. I’ve only ever had one true love. But from what I know about humans, you’ll have many loves and they always feel like The One. All I know is that many Chat Noirs have fallen for their Ladybugs. Maybe it’s my fault. That’s probably why The Guardian doesn’t let both of us loose at the same time often. I wish I could help you, kid. I don’t even know who Tikki’s chosen is in this incarnation. I like you enough to tell you if I knew. But if she doesn’t love you back, it’s best to get over her. Obviously, you can’t avoid each other. You’re partners. Those fashion magazines you always have lying around say that the best way to get over someone is to find a rebound. Why not ask out that girl with the obvious crush on you- the one you visit all the time?”

Adrien blushed. “M- Marinette?”

“Yeah, that’s the one! 

“No, Plagg. I wouldn’t want to lead her on when I’m in love with someone else. I’d just be healing myself at her expense. It wouldn’t be fair to her. We’re just friends.”

Plagg rolled his eyes, not caring about some random girl’s feelings. “Whatever. Don’t say I didn’t try. You know, all that maturity made me hungry. More camembert. Chop-chop.” 

Adrien did text her though, but as her friend Chat Noir. 

CHATON: Hey, Whatcha doin tonight?  
PURRINCESS: nm, just babysitting Manon. You remember her, right? She controlled all the villains with my dolls.  
CHATON: Yeah, I remember. She akumatized me that day too. I assume she’s much nicer when not attacking Paris?  
PURRINCESS: Very. She’s a sweetie. She even got to model with Adrien Agreste at one point.  
CHATON: Wow, that’s really cool. How come you never model with him?  
PURRINCESS: Don’t think I didn’t wish I could! If only I could talk to him…  
CHATON: He seems like a nice guy. And he owes me one from saving his butt. Want me to call in a favor?  
PURRINCESS: That’s very sweet but don’t. 1) I wouldn’t want to force Adrien into anything and make him resent me for it and 2) I could never be a model anyway  
CHATON: Why not? You’re beautiful

 

Marinette blushed. The only time a boy had called her beautiful before was Evillustrator. She started to type out a reply when Alya finally arrived. Time to sucker her best friend into babysitting for her… again. 

 

-1.3 hours later-

 

“I’m so sorry, Alya! I had no idea it would take so long to talk to my parents,” Mari apologized. Manon was already asleep. Mari made a mental note to buy Alya a very nice, very expensive Christmas present.

Alya, far from mad at Marinette, had had the time of her life. “You won’t believe it! I was taken hostage by a supervillain!”

“What?” Mari said, feigning surprise. “You’re kidding.”

“No joke! You missed everything! Luckily, Ladybug saved me.”

Mari smiled. Alya really was the best. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you.”

“No biggie, girl. But the next time we decide to spend an evening together, you’re not allowed to go anywhere near your parents.”

Mari laughed and hugged her friend. “So tell me what I missed.”

“Well, it was crazy. First off, Ladybug and Chat Noir were flirting hard the whole time but then as soon as Nadja started to question their relationship, LB got super defensive.”

“Flirting?” Mari asked skeptically.

Alya rolled her eyes. “Playful banter. Raillery. Whatever you want to call it. It was steamy though. You scared LB is gonna steal your man?”

“Excuse me?” Mari started choking on her water.

“I’m only teasing. ‘He’s just a friend.’ I know. Save your breath. Anyway, so then Nadja pulls up some pictures of them in some very compromising positions, including kissing. I repeat: KISSING. Tumblr is going to be nothing but gif-sets of that kiss for days, I tell you. So Chat is like ‘Whaaaat?’ and Ladybug was like ‘I can explain!’ and Nadja isn’t letting up. So LB gets fed up and storms out, dragging Chat with her. Commercial break. Luckily, Manon was too sleepy to care that her mom got destroyed on live TV. I kinda feel bad for my involvement in that but, since I almost died, karma has forgiven me. So next thing we know, Nadja is bright blue and calling herself Audimatrix. She kidnaps Chloe. LB and Chat Noir save her. She kidnaps me. They save me too. I’m a little fuzzy on the details there as I was trapped in a sarcophagus but I’m sure I’ll be able to catch what I missed on YouTube later. Mom and Dad were blowing up my phone asking if I’m okay. Speaking of which, they’re on their way to pick me up. Sorry about that.”

“No, Alya. I’m sorry I missed all of that. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”

Alya’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “You can make it up to me by getting Chat Noir over here for an interview.”

“Aren’t you leaving in like 10 minutes?” A car honked from outside. “In like 1 minute?”

“Dammit,” she said glumly. “Forgot about that. Next time I come here I want to see that black cat on the balcony and ready for an exclusive.” Alya collected her stuff, hugged her BFF, and met up with her worried parents. 

Mari whipped out her phone to ask Chat about Alya’s interview when she realized that she had never replied to him.

PURRINCESS: omg I am SO sorry. It totally forgot to reply. 

Chat replied instantly.

CHATON: I was worried I’d scared you off. Like, damn. Better not ever compliment this girl again.  
PURRINCESS: Ha ha, very funny. Good job on the akuma, btw.  
CHATON: See? This is why I like you. It’s nice having a fan.  
PURRINCESS: Who says I’m a fan of yours?  
CHATON: Your Chat Noir pajamas say otherwise  
PURRINCESS: THEY WERE A GIFT  
CHATON: Likely story…  
PURRINCESS: FROM YOU! YOU GAVE THEM TO ME!!  
CHATON: And you graciously accepted. So there.  
PURRINCESS: Why is it whenever I talk to you, I am incited towards violence?  
CHATON: Part of my charm. And plus, if you didn’t like the PJs, you wouldn’t be wearing them right now.

 

Marinette looked out the window to see Chat Noir waving at her. She pointed up towards the balcony and met him up there. “You really have no life, do you?”

“None at all,” he said, grinning at her. He was sitting like a cat on the railing, his go-to pose.

Mari sighed. “You’re lucky Nadja already came by to pick up Manon or I’d kick your furry butt off my roof.”

“Hence why I sat and waited for Nadja to leave before revealing myself,” he said and winked.

“You’re incorrigible. I’d find that creepy if I didn’t know you better.”

He laughed. “Well thank goodness you know me better.” Stepping down from the railing, he plopped down on her pink chair. Marinette giggled, as she usually did, whenever she saw that lithe, black-clad boy surrounded by her frilly pink stuff.

She sat down next to him and relaxed. “Don’t you have other friends to bother at this time of night?”

“I do, actually. But they don’t know me as Chat Noir. And my dad didn’t exactly give me permission to go out tonight. So if I were caught out and about…”

“I get it,” Mari said. “So you’re being naughty, huh? A bad kitty? Shall I fetch the squirt bottle?”

Chat’s jaw dropped in horror. “Don’t you dare! Marinette, don-” Chat’s words cut off as he was met with a stream of water in his face. “Do you seriously have that up here? Why do you have that up here? Did you seriously put it there just to spray me? How long were you waiting for your chance to spray me? Did you plan all this?”

Mari was near falling to the floor laughing. “What can I say? I’m a genius.”

“I’m gonna get you!” Chat snarled playfully and jumped up from his chair. He tackled Marinette to the floor and wrestled with her for the bottle, getting sprayed in the face all the while. He didn’t manage to snatch it from her; however, he DID manage to unscrew the top and all the water then fell onto Mari’s face and torso. After laughing for a bit, Chat did eventually become remorseful and he helped her dry off.

“Thanks, Chat. But it’s no use. I’m drenched,” she said and gestured to her soaked top. It was so wet he could see her bra. 

Wait. He could see her bra. Chat turned around as fast as he could and propped his arms on his knees to cover his eyes.

“Uh, Mari? You might want to change.”

“Why? It’s not like it’s cold out. It’s actually pretty refreshing.”

Chat shook his head. “Princess, you’re wearing white.”

Mari’s mouth twisted into an evil smile. “Does it bother you?” Chat squirmed awkwardly. “It does! Ha! Yes! Best revenge!” She wormed her way into sitting on his lap. “Am I making you uncomfortable, chaton?” She wrapped her arms around his neck, threw her head back and laughed at her power.

“Please, Mari,” he said, trying to sound annoyed. “This isn’t fair. Come on.”

She kissed his nose. “The benevolent Marinette The Generous will have mercy on your soul.” She stood up. “You have been released. I will now change so you may be free of the iniquitous boobies.”

Chat waited until he heard her walk downstairs to open his eyes. He sighed. That was a close one. While he was still in love with Ladybug, Marinette was still a very beautiful girl. And he’d never had a girl sit on his lap like that before, beautiful or otherwise. It was so intimate. His heart was racing. He needed his blood in his brain and his heart to calm down.

Come on, she’s just your friend.

 

Come on, he’s just your friend. 

Marinette scowled at her only other pair of clean pajamas. She considered changing into everyday clothes but she would be going straight to bed after Chat left so it would just be silly to put on jeans. And all she had was a tank top and short shorts. It was her summer pajamas, for when it was too hot for clothes. All her bravado and confidence from earlier had melted away.

“I mean, what was I thinking earlier,” she told herself. “I feel so ridiculous. I bet he’s going to make some comment about how I should ‘do that to Adrien and finally get a date.’” She huffed. “And now I’m taking forever. These will do. Whatever. Time to face the mocking.”

Mari changed her clothes, brushed her hair, and went back up the stairs to her balcony. 

“Wow,” he said immediately. 

She frowned. “Yeah, I know I look silly. These are really old PJs, okay?”

He shook his head. “No, they’re fine. I’m sorry. I’ve just never seen you with your hair down before. It’s really pretty.”

She nervously tucked it behind her ears. “Yeah, I guess I do keep it tied up all the time, huh?”

“You should wear it like that more often. It frames your face really well, makes your eyes bigger.”

She smiled. “I thought I was the fashion designer here, buster.”

Breaking from his trance, he laughed. “True true. So anyways…”

“Anyways,” she continued. “What did you come over for anyway? Video game marathon or just to hang for a little bit?”

He pulled out a Redbox disc from his pocket. Not fair, by the way, that Chat got to have pockets on his costume and Ladybug didn’t. #pocketequality

“I was thinking we could watch a movie? If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I’ve just really been wanting to see it for a while and my other friends have already seen it and you said the other day you haven’t yet so I just thought it might be fun to spice things up and-”

“Chat?”

He stopped babbling. “Yes?”

“Of course, I’d like to see it,” Mari said. She took his hand and led him to her trapdoor. “Let’s go downstairs. We can watch it on my laptop.”

“Cool, yeah. I just didn’t know, you know? Maybe you already watched it between Tuesday and now.”

She smiled and rolled her eyes. “You’re such a dork, chaton. Get it set up and I’ll pop us up some popcorn.”

Mari came back with two bags of Orville Redenbacher’s and two water bottles. Chat flipped down to her level, took the food from her, and extended his stick to deliver him back up to her bed.

“What was that for?” she asked.

He shoveled a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “Didn’t want you to walk up the stairs carrying food. We both know how clumsy you are.”

“Hardy har har. Is the movie ready to start?”

“Of course!”

 

The movie played. They had changed positions several times, eventually settling where Chat sat up against a bunch of pillows with his arm around Marinette as she leaned against his chest. It was simply what was most comfortable. It was so comfortable, Chat supposed, that it caused Mari to fall asleep three quarters into the movie. He smiled down at her. She was so cute when she slept. His kissed the top of her head affectionately before gently getting out from under her to pause the movie. He was tempted to take it with him but he had enough money to deal with renting it a day or two more so they could finish it. He wrote her a note so she wouldn’t be confused in the morning and slipped off into the night.


	6. Birthday with Befana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's grandmother comes to visit the same day as her surprise birthday party. When 4pm rolls around and Mari goes to the party her friends threw for her, Papillon takes advantage of the dejected grandmother.

“Should I send her a text?” Adrien asked his kwami.

The black cat groaned. “I thought you said it was a surprise party.”

“I know that Adrien can’t wish her a happy birthday yet. But can’t Chat Noir? I don’t want her to spend her entire birthday thinking that nobody cares about her.” Adrien threw himself onto the bed and sighed. 

He never thought he’d go this crazy over not texting her for a day. She had become such an essential part of his life. And since he got to see her in and out of costume, he was able to fill every day with her without oversaturating her life with himself. It was the perfect status quo. Every single day had a little bit of Marinette. 

4pm felt so far away…

Adrien looked down at the present he made for her. He hoped she liked it. Nino and Alya said that she would be over the moon, given her crush on him. He wanted to make her happy but at the same time, it would kill him if he broke her heart so he tried to keep his distance when he was ‘Adrien.’ Sometimes, she was so cute he couldn’t help himself. Maybe he could hook her up with somebody else? That would fix everything!

“Do you think Nathaniel still has a crush on her?” Adrien asked aloud.

Plagg just opened one eye. “Excuse me?”

Adrien chuckled. “Nothing. Go back to your cat nap.”

“Already ahead of you,” Plagg said sleepily and drifted back off. 

Adrien threw his “Cat-caller’ on the bed to expunge the temptation and took out his main phone and texted Nino. He needed something to keep him busy.

BFAM: Hey, are we setting up for ‘the dentist’ yet?  
DJ NINO: No, bro. It’s not even noon yet  
BFAM: )-:  
DJ NINO: Wanna chill til Alya calls us to get started?  
BFAM: That’d be great! Your house or mine?  
DJ NINO: Dude. You have a literal skatepark in your bedroom.  
BFAM: This is true. I’ll send my chauffer to you?  
DJ NINO: And spend a car ride alone with The Gorilla?  
BFAM: What if I’m in the limo with you?  
DJ NINO: The aux cord is mine!  
BFAM: See you in 20  
DJ NINO: kk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` 

After two hours of various activities (basketball, arcade games, rock climbing, foosball, etc), Nino and Adrien were sprawled on the couch. Nino cleared his throat.

“Hey, so real talk, bro. What’s going on with you and Mari? I mean, she’s totally into you. You can stand to be around her. Why isn’t anything happening? Even if you’re not crushing, you gotta admit that she’s hot. Like, what’s stopping you?”

“Uh, I dunno, man,” Adrien said. “I would just rather be friends with her. I don’t see her that way.”

“Ah, I see. You see her as a sister. That’s rough. Poor Mari.”

Adrien didn’t see her as a sister at all but he didn’t really want to get into this with Nino, at least not right here and not right now. He was sure he’d slip up and reveal his identity if he tried to explain his and Mari’s unique relationship. Nino was placated with his answer so Adrien wouldn’t push it.

“Yeah, man. Feelings just aren’t there,” Adrien affirmed.

“I understand,” Nino said. “I mean, it’s not like you two even talk much. Alya just ships it so hard. Gotta be honest man, I ship it too. You two would be pretty cute together. But you can’t force yourself to have feelings for someone. Should I, um, leak the news to Mari via Alya? So you don’t have to reject her?”

Adrien thought about it. “Not today on her birthday, obviously. But yeah, I’d like that. Thank you.”

“No problem, bro.”

“So, uh… what exactly is shipping?”

Nino sighed. “Bruh. The things having a girlfriend opens your eyes to, my dude. Let me introduce you to a whole new world.” Nino’s phone buzzed. He checked it, sent a text, and put a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “And I will tell you all about it in the car. We have a party to set up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you guys ready?” Nino asked, having just received the text from Alya that they were on their way. Everyone murmured their various affirmatives. Alya could be seen approaching just on the horizon. The music was turned off until Alya started to remove Marinette’s blindfold, then he turned it back on so she would register the sound of her favorite song right as she opened her eyes. 

Marinette focused on Adrien first, of course, but she was polite enough to move her eyes along and greet all her other friends. 

Adrien waited his turn. He wanted to give her time with everyone else before he monopolized her. 

“Happy birthday, Marinette,” he said when the last present had been given to her. He held the blue box out in front of him for her to take. She just stood, open mouthed, as he put in in her hands. Alya came in from the side and closed Marinette’s mouth for her.

“Open it, Marinette!” Alya instructed. Suddenly, you could hear loud, angry singing of “La Donna è Mobile.”

Everyone looked up to see a green skinned, red haired, red eyed, black leather body suit wearing, older woman on a flying motorcycle of the same color scheme. Near her, floated a white fairy that strongly resembled Marinette’s mother, Sabine.

“Grandma?” said Marinette in surprise.

“You lied to your grandma, Marinetta,” the woman said, stalking closer to her granddaughter.

While Marinette and Alya tried to reason with the new akuma victim (as Adrien was sure that this was not normal appearance/ behavior for Marinette’s grandmother), Adrien ran off into the bushes to transform. 

“We didn't even get in on the buffet!” Plagg complained.

“Party’s over, my friend. Claw’s out!” Chat Noir returned to the party to find Mylene turned into coal, everybody fleeing, and the Sabine-fairy blocking the exits.

“It's rude to leave while Befana's still speaking to you,” the upset grandmother said. She aimed her gun at Marinette. Chat knocked it away with his staff.

“Hey, I never knew grandmas could be so nasty,” he said, perching on one of the tall music speakers he had personally hauled to the party. 

“You would look wonderful in white, my pretty kitty,” Befana said, rotating the cylinder of her gun again and firing at Chat Noir. He effortlessly dodged by tilting his head, narrowly missing the shot. But that was the aesthetic he was going for. 

“Eh, not convinced. I'm much more into black,” he joked and made peace signs around his eyes. “Makes my eyes stand out, don't you think?” Befana shot more white blasts at him. Chat Noir dodged them all, however it took him much more effort than her initial shot. He was on top of some nearby buildings by the time she had to reload.

Getting tired of the spry kitty, Befana ordered fairy!Sabine to “Take care of this pesky pussy cat!”

“Hey, I thought fairies were supposed to be nice,” yelled Chat as fairy!Sabine knocked him off his (quite high) perch and slammed him into the ground. Thank goodness his Miraculous powers protected him from most injury.

“Chat Noir,” cried Marinette. 

“I’ll be right there,” he yelled back. Chat hadn’t been paying much mind to Marinette’s safety during the fight. Bystanders were never in any REAL danger from akumas. As long as they won and Ladybug did her thing, everything would be alright. Fairy!Sabine attacked him again. “Uh, soon…” Where the hell was Ladybug? Without her, Marinette could actually be hurt. Or worse…

Chat fought with everything he had. Just in case Ladybug wasn’t coming. He kept looking back to check on Marinette, which then prolonged the fight with his inattention. When their friends intervened, he had the distraction he needed to fight off Befana’s minion and make it to Marinette, who was hiding behind Nino’s DJ booth.

“Sorry I kept you waiting,” he said and held out his hand to her. “We need to find you a better hiding place.” He took her into his arms and extended his staff until they were leaps and bounds away. Running along the rooftops, he looked down at the friend in his arms. “You must be a real cool girl if your friends are protecting you like that. So why's your grandma flipping out?”

“I think she wanted me to spend more time with her,” Marinette said. “She came unexpectedly and the birthday party had been planned weeks in advance. I tried to spend as much time with her today as I could but I couldn’t blow all my friends off. They worked so hard.”

“I don’t think she actually wants to hurt you, Mari. She was upset and vulnerable and Papillon took advantage of that. All akumas are his fault, nobody else’s. Not even Chloé’s.” He got them halfway up the Eiffel Tower before he put her down. “Don't worry. I promise to get your real grandma back safe.” He squeezed her hands reassuringly before running to the edge. Before jumping, he turned around and smiled at her. “Oh, I almost forgot. Happy birthday, anyway.”

“Thank you, Chat Noir,” she said. As soon as he was gone, Tikki flew out of her hiding pocket in Marinette’s jacket. “It’s time to save my Nona. Tikki, spots on!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Where have you hidden Marinetta?” demanded Befana.

“I, uh… forget-a,” Chat Noir said nonchalantly. He was so relieved to have Ladybug back at his side. He didn’t know how he’d save his friends without her.

“Watch out, or you'll be getting a time out of your own,” Ladybug shot back at her grandma.

“Take care of these little villains,” Befana ordered of her fairy minions. “What does the villainous cat burglar do when he feels threatened?” Befana looked up and spotted the Eiffel Tower. “He climbs!” 

“We can't let her get to the Eiffel Tower!” Chat yelled to Ladybug whilst fighting off a fairy-tized firefighter.

“And why not?” Ladybug asked as fairy!Rose almost caused her to fall off the building.

“Because that’s where I hid her granddaughter!”

Ladybug groaned. “Wait, no! She’s a-” Luckily, Chat Noir was already halfway to the tower before Ladybug accidentally gave away her secret identity. She ran after him, smiling to herself along the way at how worried Chat seemed to be about her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fight was pretty much a breeze. His Lady was basically a genius strategist. With her, Team Miraculous would never lose. There was one moment where Chat was fearful that Marinette would be hurt but Ladybug had everything already figured out like always. The whole fight at the Eiffel Tower only lasted about twenty minutes. After they fist bumped, Ladybug swung off. Chat was talking to Gina Dupain when Marinette had walked out of wherever Ladybug hid her and ran to her grandmother.

“Nona!”

“Marinetta! I am so sorry for ruining your birthday. I cannot believe this happens in Paris every day! This should really be something they warn international visitors about.”

“I know, right? They really should. But I’m the one who is sorry. I really wanted to spend the day with you but my friends had had this planned for weeks.”

Gina pulled apart from the hug to look into her beloved granddaughter’s eyes. “I was not angry at you. That was Papillon. I was sad, sad that you are growing up so fast and sad that I didn’t see it. I was disappointed that our relationship deteriorated so. But that is not your fault, not one bit. You are a young woman, very busy. I should have made a better effort to keep up with you.”

Marinette wrapped herself up in Gina’s arms. “I’ll make a better effort too. I love you, Nona.”

“I love you too, Marinetta.”

“And I would love to get you two back to the party,” Chat said, holding his hand out to them. “I heard you’re a fan of thrills, Ms. Dupain?”

“We can trust him?” Gina whispered to Marinette.

Mari smiled. “I trust him with my life. Take his hand, Nona.” 

Gina did and Chat picked her up bridal style and leaped off the Eiffel Tower. 

“Dio mio! Non posso crederci! È stato fantastico!” Gina exclaimed when reaching the ground. She couldn’t manage French after such excitement.

“E 'stato divertente, giusto?” Chat replied in flawless Italian. “Ogni volta che vuoi un altro giro, chiedi a Marinette di chiamarmi.” His kissed her hand. “Torno subito!”

Chat extended his stick back up to Marinette. 

“Hello, chaton. Of what do I have the pleasure?”

Instead of teasing like normal, he scooped her up in his arms and twirled her around. “You have no idea how scared I was! I’m so relieved you’re alright!” he said, sticking his head in the crook of her neck. He needed to know she was okay with every inch of himself.

Marinette couldn’t tell if her discomfort was for the hug or for how Chat seemed to be trembling. “Chat, you know that nothing bad can happen. Everything goes back to normal after Ladybug-”

“Ladybug wasn’t there! I didn’t know what I was going to do!”

Mari sighed and pet her friend’s hair. “But she did show up. And she always will. I’m fine. I will always be fine. Okay, chaton?”

Chat blinked back the water in his eyes and smiled. “You’re right,” he said, not setting her down. “You’re my best friend, Marinette. I love you.”

“I love you too, Chat. Besties for life,” she said and tightened the embrace.

“Okay, ready to go to your party? I set your grandma down by her motorcycle. I figured you guys would want to go together.”

“That’s a good idea. Will you be at my party?”

“I don’t think I can attend in costume. Might draw too much attention. After all, I am a famous superhero.”

Mari bit her lip. “Could you attend anyway, without your costume?”

Chat smiled wistfully at the irony. “I can’t. Ladybug always says nobody can know our identities, not even those closest to us. Sorry, Mari. But I’ll text you, okay?”

Marinette was shook. She couldn’t believe she just asked Chat Noir to reveal himself. She was such a hypocrite. Stupid emotions, getting in the way of sound logic. “Yeah, that’s fine. I mean, you haven’t texted me all day so you damn better,” she said and laughed. “Let’s go.”

They got to the bottom of the tower and Mari ran to her grandma. “How was it?” she asked.

Gina started going off in Italian again but switched back to French. “It was amazing! Does he do that for you all the time? I didn’t know you were such a thrill seeker! I’ll have to take you skydiving with me next time, Marinetta. He can come too. I like him.”

Mari laughed. “I like him too.” Lightbulb! “Hey, Nona? How about you head out to the party without me? I forgot something at home.”

“Okay, Marinetta,” Gina said and winked. “You take care if her now, pretty kitty. No shenanigans. She is only 14. I know how you French boys are.”

Chat was aghast. “I’m only 14 too, thank you. I would never!”

Gina patted him on the head. “Good kitty. You don’t want to meet the wrath of an angry Italiana!”

“Nona!” Mari cried indignantly. 

“What?” she said, hands raised in surrender. “He is handsome young man who speaks my language. I approve.” She glared at Chat. “In a few years.”

“I can’t,” Marinette said and sighed. “I cannot. Love you, Nona! Let’s go, Chat.”

Gina laughed manically as the beet red Chat got pulled away by tiny Mari.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chat put Mari down as they reached her balcony. They barely made it in time. His ring had started beeping at him a few minutes ago.

“I’m going to be about a half hour,” Mari said. “You can go if you want.”

“How will you get back to your party?” Chat asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll walk.”

“Are you sure?” He looked down at the girl in front of him, who had come to mean so incredibly much. 

“You gonna miss me?” she teased.

“I will if you don’t log into League later,” he said, going along with her silliness. "I need my ADC.”

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’ll be on. Talk to you later on Discord. Now hurry up and go so I can get back to my party.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mari had finished transforming the too-small T-shirt her grandma had given her earlier into a fashionable purse. It was perfect! Unfortunately, it had taken her a good thirty-five minutes. She ran out her front door, planning on sprinting to the park when a rickshaw driver waved her over. 

“I was paid to deliver the most beautiful girl in Paris to her birthday party?”

Marinette could not have been more touched. “Thank you, sir. Any chance you could go as fast as you can. I’m in quite the hurry.”

“Of course, mademoiselle.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette made it to the party just after sundown. Her grandmother was thrilled to see what Mari had done to her purse. Her friends and family gathered for the Happy Birthday song. It was perfect.

“Bravo,” Adrien said, a small blue box in his hands. Mari could not believe she had forgotten about him and his present in all the excitement. “You never got a chance to open it with all that was going on.” It was a handmade charm bracelet. “I always carry the lucky charm you gave me with me wherever I go, and I think it works pretty well. So... I figured it was my turn to make one for you.”

“You're so wonderful... Oh, uh- it's wonderful, what a charm! Uh... luck charm! I-I'll wear the charm um, with luck! Basically, um... thank you.”

Tom and Sabine “aww”-ed but Gina had her arms crossed. She liked the Italian-speaking boy in the leather much better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mari was on the outskirt of her party talking to Tikki when her pocket buzzed.

CHATON: How’s your party going?  
PURRINCESS: Boy, do I have loads to tell you when I get on Discord tonight. Omfg dying  
CHATON: That good or that bad?  
PURRINCESS: That good lol ttyl <3 u

“Marinette!” Alya called. “Come dance with me!”

Marinette smiled at Tikki, tucking the kwami’s present back into her shirt. Akuma attack and all, she really was having the best day. “Coming, Alya!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anybody know another way to phrase what Chat does with his stick? I'm tired of saying "He extended his stick/staff/baton" over and over again.
> 
> Also, I Googled Translated the Italian. Can't be sure if it's right or not. Too bad her grandma isn't from Spain. If anyone knows Italian and has a better way to say, "omg i can't believe it what a rush" "that was fun, right? anytime you want to do that again, have your granddaughter call me. brb," please tell me lol


End file.
